Pittsburgh – October 2018 – Doors Open Part 3

Smithfield Church – The church was completed in 1927, at the corner of Smithfield Street and Strawberry Way.

The church was built by the German Evangelical Protestant Church, and has German sayings throughout.

As with the other downtown churches, the Smithfield Church has an impressive organ.

As well as the stained glass.

The HYP Club – The Harvard, Yale, Princeton Club of Pittsburgh has a small 2 floor building surrounded by skyscrapers.

The Alcoa Building towers over it’s neighbor.

The interior itself was nice, but not noteworthy. We did have an enjoyable conversation with one of the hostesses, learning much about the club – which interesting is no longer restricted to just alumni of Harvard, Yale and Princeton.

Pittsburgh Engineers Building – Daniel Burnham’s first Pittsburgh building was the 1899 Union Trust Company. Built in 1899 for Andrew Mellon and Henry Clay Frick, it was noteworthy for it’s safe.

The bank left long ago, but the safe is still there.

The Engineering Society of Pittsburgh has taken over the building, and has a club/restaurant that celebrates the engineering of Pittsburgh, with an emphasis on the bridges.

William Penn Hotel – The William Penn Hotel, a classic old school hotel, was opened in 1916. Over the years it has hosted many famous people, including numerous presidents.

Situated along Grant Street, it has long been the center of society in Pittsburgh.

The main lobby.

The lower level has the famous Speakeasy Bar, so named because of it’s reputation during prohibition.

The hotel has a collection of artifacts including Lawernce Welk’s first bubble machine (for those too young google or youtube Lawrence Welk)

The Pennsylvanian – While it was officially called Union Station, the major train station at the corner of Liberty and Grant was always more commonly known as Penn Station, as the only railroad it served was the Pennsylvania Railroad

Designed by Daniel Burnham it went into service in 1901.

As you approach the station you are greeted by a great rotunda that was once used by carriages arriving and departing.

The ceiling of the rotunda is one of the master pieces of the city, and of Daniel Burnham’s career.

The rotunda is worth a number of looks…

Immediately inside is a smaller room that greeted passengers.

The Main Hall, with it’s high ceilings and skylights, continue to impress people today. After the buildings restoration in the 1980s to apartments, this hall has been used for functions like weddings and meetings.

Original benches from the station era are still used in this hall.

Detailed carvings are throughout.

The skylights open up the lower level to natural lighting, despite the fact that the entire building rises another 10 floors around and above them.

Another classic public clock.

On this day they were also offering tours of one of the apartments.

From the 4th floor hallway you had a better look above the skylights at the higher floors of the building

As with most of the other historic buildings in town, the Pennsylvanian has a great mailbox.